Thursday, April 26, 2012

Canadian companies that want to bring in highly skilled foreign workers temporarily will be able to do so faster and pay them less under new federal immigration rules aimed at addressing the country’s persistent labour shortages.

What's the agenda? As I read it:

Benefit the West (Harper's power base)

More profits for Big Business (the act will drive all wages down)

Temporary workers don't become Canadians (we send them home when we don't want them any more, or after four years - when employers can drive wages down further)

Monday, April 23, 2012

I personally know the feeling of those 300,000 Skilled Worker applicants who are on the verge of having their hopes and dreams of coming to Canada eliminated by the Harper Government. My own immigration process was over four years long. In that time of waiting, you'll see reflected in many of the posts here, a person's life is on hold, in limbo, as you await the next stage in processing. You're hesitant to make any major changes in your life (like marriage) that might change your status and cause your application to be bumped to the bottom of the line.

Today's Star article, Immigration applicants upset at Ottawa’s plan to wipe out backlog tells of this frustration for many who feel directly the sting of the current government's changes to immigration policy. And it also serves as a warning to Canada about the issue of trust. Skilled immigrants are intelligent and highly mobile. They have chosen Canada for a number of positive reasons, including the fairness of the immigration process.

If the Harper Government continues down the single-minded path of "just-in-time" immigration policies with the clumsy implementation they are currently following, don't be surprised if the country faces even greater shortages of skilled workers in the future. After all, what reason do they have to trust us now?

Thursday, April 19, 2012

I have had numerous requests over the last few years to help others who are interested in immigrating to Canada. I finally decided to honour those requests earlier this year by writing the first in a series of how-to books on the immigration process. In cooperation with Customs and Immigration Canada (CIC) and other federal and provincial government agencies, I believe I have put together an authoritative book that will help anyone with the goal of becoming a Skilled Worker class immigrant to Canada.

"How To Immigrate To Canada For Skilled Workers" will help Skilled Worker applicants to understand the requirements to successfully apply for immigration to Canada, help them in being aware of common issues and problems that can arise in the process, and make plain some of the costs and hurdles that they can expect to encounter along the way. Skilled Worker applicants will learn who is eligible to apply; how the application process works; the range of information that they can expect to gather and provide; the pros and cons of using an immigration representative; and expectations for the post-application process and other essential information.

Additionally, this book provides an overview of Skilled Worker nomination programs offered by the Provinces and Territories. These programs can give applicants an extra advantage by directing their skills to regions of Canada where they are most needed.

The book will be available worldwide over the course of the next month through Amazon (for Kindle), iBookstore (for iPad), Barnes & Noble (for NOOK), Reader Store (for Sony Reader), Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker & Taylor, and eBookPie.Watch for updates here for release dates as they become available.

Monday, April 16, 2012

The Globe and Mail reported over the weekend that under proposed modifications to Canada's investor class of economic immigration, Jason Kenny wants to double the price of admission.

This was a proposal that first came to light a few months back, and now, like all things immigration of late, the Harper government and their new majority are seeking to hit the gas on legislation to enact their new policy ideas.

Again, it looks like those who have waited patiently under the current programs are likely to be thrown under the bus. This time it's 25,000 wealthy foreigners (totalling over 90,000 people when you include their dependants) who are at risk. Their problem? Apparently they aren't wealthy enough. Instead of being ready and able to drop $800,000 into Canada, new investors would have to be ready to drop double that - $1.6 million.

It's like Canada sold you a ticket to ride, and now, when they think someone else is willing to pay more, they want to refund your money so they can sell the seat to someone else. Kenney believes the current requirements for investment are, to paraphrase, "massively under-priced".

With all the changes the Harper government are trying to make across all aspects of the immigration system, as well as their staff reductions introduced in the current budget, you have to believe that current applications will be further delayed if not suspended. Imagine being an immigration official trying to administer this major transition in policy?

To fill Canada’s growing labour shortages in construction, natural resources and similar industries, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced plans on April 12th to make it easier for skilled tradespersons to immigrate to Canada.

Monday, April 09, 2012

To hear Stephen Harper’s government tell it, Canada’s immigration system is in dire need of a fix, and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney intends to deliver it. In a meeting with the Star’s editorial board this past week Kenney sketched out bold plans for a faster, more flexible system that will give “the best and the brightest” newcomers a better chance to succeed, and will rely less on temporary workers.

But the problem with this government is that, like with the current F-35 scandal: you can't believe what they say. Kenny went on to tell The Star's editorial board that the Tories are committed "to maintaining Canada’s intake of more than 250,000 immigrants a year..." yet he has cut in half the number of Skilled Worker applications allowed each year (from 20,000 to 10,000), and last year's visas for Skilled workers were down from 48,822 to 36,770. The Tories may be committed to overall numbers, but they will pick and choose the winners and losers.

Thursday, April 05, 2012

The Star has reported:The immigration department’s budget will be axed by $29.8 million or 5.3 per cent in 2012, followed by further cuts of $65.2 million and $84.3 in the next two years.Cuts are expected in both the department’s operating budgets and settlement program funding. Ottawa has reduced immigrant settlement program funding since 2010, $75 million from Ontario alone.

In what has to be a slap in the face to 200,000 people all over the world who hoped to come to Canada as Skilled Workers, Jason Kenney and the Harper Government have with one swipe of the pen, eliminated the Skilled Worker backlog of immigration applicants.

Here's the news from The Star:

The federal government is wiping out a waiting list of more than 200,000 foreign workers and returning the $130 million they paid in processing fees as it begins an ambitious overhaul of the country’s immigration system.Hopeful immigrants who applied before Feb. 27, 2008, to come to Canada as skilled workers will have their fees returned and be told to apply again under new programs that put greater emphasis on their work skills.

The news has already created shockwaves among immigration lawyers and consultants, who anticipated myriad legal actions against the government.

“It is another example of the lack of integrity and shortsightedness of this government,” said Toronto lawyer Tim Leahy, who filed a class action lawsuit earlier this year on behalf of more than 300 immigration applicants over delayed processing.

“What does it say about the integrity of Canada? We can refund the processing fee, but how are you going to refund six years of lives of these applicants?”

Calling the plan “unprecedented,” lawyer Robin Seligman said the government should have first stopped the intake to clear the backlog. Prospective migrants might now think twice before applying to Canada, she added. “How can you trust this government?”

The drastic move is meant to eliminate a backlog that means skilled workers have had to wait upwards of eight years to get into Canada.